22 POLICE RECRUITS USED DRUGS

Two-thirds of current class admit past use, say officials under fire for
one recruit's history

Two-thirds of Denver's current crop of police recruits admitted past drug
use, the city's top public safety officials revealed Wednesday.

Safety Manager Butch Montoya and Civil Service Commission members made the
revelation while defending the hiring of a recruit with a history of drug
abuse and other problems.

Montoya decided to put recruit Ellis Johnson into the academy class despite
opposition from Police Chief Tom Sanchez and others who examined the
40-year-old's admissions of heavy prior drug use.

"I made what I felt was a fair decision to give a person who has made
dramatic changes in his life a second chance," Montoya said during a press
conference he and four of the five commissioners called to address the
controversy.

Johnson acknowledged to the Denver Rocky Mountain News that he has used
drugs extensively, but said he stopped 12 years ago.

Officials said during the press conference that they also looked into
Johnson's admission he shoved his ex-wife and girlfriend.

Paula Sandoval, chairwoman of the commission, noted that Johnson was not
charged in either incident.

Twenty-two of Johnson's 33 Denver Police Academy classmates admitted using
drugs illegally, Sandoval said.

In addition, 20 of the 34, or 59 percent, of the applicants eligible for
the March academy class and 44 out of 72, or 61 percent, for the July class
have admitted illegal drug use, she said.

A 1996 national survey by the Department of Health and Human Services found
31 percent of people 12 and older admitted trying marijuana at least once.
In Colorado, the figure was 46 percent -- both significantly lower than the
police recruit classes' averages.

"The commission factors the number of years since recent use and the
current background information of each individual candidate," Sandoval
said. "The commission understands the liability of candidates' drug use but
considers the totality of the candidate's file."

Sanchez said at his own press conference later Wednesday that he and his
senior staff remain opposed to Johnson's hiring.

"I've not changed my mind," Sanchez said. "I felt he was of insufficient
quality. My view is that he didn't meet the minimum threshold for
acceptance to our academy.

"We have a lot of individuals (on the police force) who have experimented
with drugs in the past," he added. "We're no different from the general
population. But there's a major difference between someone who has used
drugs early in their life, in school, compared to someone whose use was
unbridled."

Two psychological evaluations placed Johnson on level three of a four-level
scale. Police recruits generally have been hired from levels one and two.

Montoya said he believes someone leaked details of Johnson's file to the
media in order to embarrass the administration.

The Police Protective Association and the Black Police Officers
Organization have questioned the hiring process as well.

Mayor Wellington Webb has ordered the city attorney's office to review the
hiring practices and the Johnson case in particular. City Attorney Dan Muse
said some information about that inquiry might be released this week.

Johnson at one time was a police officer in Glendale, but left the force
after three months. Glendale officials didn't respond to a request to
discuss Johnson's tenure there.

Montoya said his decision to hire Johnson was based in part on finding what
he called "inaccuracies" in the police intelligence bureau's background
report on Johnson, who had been turned down by at least 10 other metro-area
law enforcement agencies and once by Denver.

Montoya wouldn't discuss what he considered inaccurate about the report.

Intelligence commander Capt. Jim Collier was among those who opposed
Johnson's hiring.

Sanchez defended his department's investigation of Johnson's background and
said he's unaware of any inaccuracies.

Montoya said he was under no pressure from others to appoint Johnson,
including the commissioners who were split 3-2 over hiring him. Sandoval
refused to disclose how commissioners voted, saying that information was
confidential.

Commissioner Kristopher Colley said during the press conference that there
is no truth to rumors he had a personal relationship with Johnson and
pushed for his hiring.

Colley said he realized upon reviewing Johnson's file during the
application process that they had met during a martial arts class early in
1998 where Johnson was a guest instructor.

Montoya noted that Johnson must make it through the academy before joining
the force.

"I firmly believe there are safeguards in place at the police academy and
in all phases of his training that this recruit and all recruits must
meet," Montoya said. "If he fails to do so, he will not be a Denver police
officer."